<
        >

          Will Cowboys use Dak Prescott's legs more often after bye?

          • Todd Archer, ESPN Staff WriterOct 24, 2023, 06:00 AM ET
            Close
              Todd Archer is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Dallas Cowboys. Archer has covered the NFL since 1997 and Dallas since 2003. He joined ESPN in 2010. You can follow him on Twitter at @toddarcher.
            Follow on X

          FRISCO, Texas -- Knowing how important the Week 6 game against the Los Angeles Chargers was for the Dallas Cowboys, Dak Prescott was going to do whatever he could to make sure his team won.

          Calling the difference between 4-2 and 3-3 "huge," the quarterback turned back the clock in some ways by displaying the importance of using his legs.

          In recent years, running and scrambling has been something Prescott has done less of, either by design or because of injuries, most notably the dislocation and fracture of his right ankle in Week 5 of the 2020 season.

          After that, the Cowboys signed him to a four-year, $160 million contract that led owner and general manager Jerry Jones to say he wouldn't mind seeing Prescott run less.

          But the Cowboys' 20-17 win in Week 6 against the Chargers was a throwback. Prescott had seven carries for a team-high 40 yards, including a career-long 18-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Prescott covered 142.28 yards on sprints (at least 12 mph), a season high. He reached 18.65 mph on an 11-yard scramble and 18.06 mph on his touchdown run, his fastest runs of the year.

          Is it something that will continue after the Week 7 bye, when the Cowboys return to action on Oct. 29 against the Los Angeles Rams?

          "We're very selective with it," offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. "Nobody wants to have the quarterback have to carry it a ton, but again, he has the ability to hurt people with his legs. He's done that historically. We're not back to his Mississippi State days in terms of all the carries that he's used to, but it's good to show that we have the capability of doing that."

          In the first five games, Prescott has 12 carries for 45 yards, but five of those carries were end-of-half or end-of-game kneel-downs. On his touchdown, the Chargers' defense was convinced he would not run it.

          Defensive end Tuli Tuipulotu crashed down hard as Prescott looked to hand the ball to Tony Pollard. At the last second, Prescott pulled it free -- bobbling it for a moment -- and was able to run untouched for the score.

          "Not showing my legs early in the year, not running, I think played a part in that," Prescott said.

          It was the eighth time in his career that he had at least seven carries and the first since Week 14, 2021, against Washington. Five of those eight games came in his first three seasons, including an 11-carry, 82-yard outing against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2018.

          Against the Chargers, he had two kneel-downs, three scrambles and two designed runs that included his touchdown run and a failed fourth-down tush push.

          "The called runs, we're selective when we do it," coach Mike McCarthy said. "He was very productive on the touchdown run; it was a big play in the game. But, yeah, I'm not interested in making Dak ... you won't see me call 12 quarterback runs. Don't tell anybody though."

          Perhaps what was more important than Prescott running was his scrambling to make big plays in the pass game.

          He had three key third-down passes in the fourth quarter, escaping pressure to provide first downs. The first was a 60-yard throw-and-run to Pollard after breaking free from the Chargers' front. Six plays later, Prescott found receiver Brandin Cooks for a 2-yard touchdown and a 17-10 lead.

          "I don't know if I was about to get sacked there. I don't know if anybody touched me. Just reacting, just playing and reacting I guess, but you have a sense," Prescott said. "That's a resilient play there. ... I broke out of the top of there and Tony [was] doing a great job of getting open and finding a window.

          "As I got out, I saw some grass in front of me to potentially run, but always just trying to keep my eyes downfield, looking for a tight end or receiver coming across. Then, here comes Tony out of the backfield and threw it to him. Then, he got a lot more than the play that I made."

          On the winning drive, Prescott escaped to his right and found receiver CeeDee Lamb for 18 yards on third-and-6. He found Cooks for 11 yards on a third-and-9 and lamented a miss of Pollard for a touchdown on third down before Brandon Aubrey's field goal gave the Cowboys a 20-17 advantage.

          "Scrambling's part of the passing game," McCarthy said. "Yes, it's a way we train. You see us practice in the quarterback schools and all those things."

          McCarthy often refers to plays "above the 2.3," meaning what happens beyond 2.3 seconds after the ball is snapped, when things tend to break down. The Cowboys work on scramble drills in practices to help the quarterback and pass-catchers get on the same page.

          "It's a little bit like almost a fast break in basketball," Schottenheimer said. "There's spacing elements to it. There's landmarks that guys are trying to get to. If someone is in my areas, I have an adjustment off of that."

          In the first five games of the season, Prescott was 9-of-16 for 81 yards on passes outside the pocket, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Against the Chargers, he was 5-of-7 for 101 yards, the fourth most in his career.

          The Cowboys have seven games remaining against defenses ranked in the top half in limiting opponent's yards per game and five against teams ranked in the top half in points per game.

          Prescott's ability to gain yards and buy time will be important.

          He will need more games like his last one against the Chargers.